Topic: The Magickal Web

Tibetan Buddhism very much stresses the fact that 'this reality' (that of ignorance and suffering) isn't the only reality we have. The second option is a reality free from both ignorance and suffering, and this is a reality that is accessible to us, here and now. The problem, generally, is that we've so deeply imbibed the ignorant reality that it's hard to believe in a reality free from ignorance, let alone take steps to realize it.

I have been seeing a lot of this recently and I do not agree with it. This idea that Gods Can Be Anything You Want comes out of the Chaos Magick scene, and relates to a lot of psychobabble about Memes and Egregores and Transhumanity that is itself derived from New Age thought, Neurolinguistic Programming (which in my opinion is evil), a misunderstanding of Theosophy, Goetic magic, bits of Ceremonial Magic, and a whole lot of whatever else Chaos Magicians decide should go in their stew.

Some of you may not be familiar with high magick. Id like to offer my opinion of what high magick actually is. The first and most important issue to address is what exactly high magick is, how do you define it. Some people simply define it as ceremonial magick. However i dont like this definition cause i feel the vast majority of magick, even those well accepted as low magick (like wicca) have very ceremonial qualities to it. In fact i think the ceremonial aspect is really how to differentiate a spell from a prayer. A spell, often, is no more then a prayer with ritual. Of coure there are some magicks which have no dieties at all, and therefore, has no element of prayer in the traditional sense. However i think even with those magicks there is a prayer-like element even if it is directed within. So then what is high magick? I consider high magick to be magick intended to call a spirit or diety to physical apparition or to invoke their divine powers into yourself. In contrast low magick is where you petition a diety to cause a certain intent without controlling the diety directly.

The five-pointed star, or pentagram is one of the most potent, powerful, and persistent symbols in human history. It has been important to almost every ancient culture, from the Mayans of Latin America, to India, China, Greece, and Egypt. It has been found scratched on the walls of Neolithic caves, and in Babylonian drawings, where it marks the pattern the planet Venus makes on its travels- a secret symbol of the Goddess Ishtar. Scriptures, especially Hebrew, are abundant with references to pentagrams. So, why does this symbol have such a sinister reputation today?

An award winning children's fiction book has been banned from some schools and libraries for the use of an unpleasant word in its opening paragraphs. The book titled "The Higher Power Of Lucky" won the 2007 Newbery Medal for children's fiction, but it stirred a nationwide controversy after some parents complained of the use of the word "scrotum" on the first page of the book.

An inmate serving life in prison for a torture murder that sent two co-defendants to death row wants a federal judge to approve a toy sword and other items and privileges for the practice of an ancient European religion.

What a great opportunity! This summer (July 15-21) Encounter World Religions Centre will again offer our most popular program EXPLORING WORLD RELIGIONS - an unrivalled chance to explore the People, Places, Practices and Philosophies of ten world religions in one amazing week.

Friday I was hyper-caffinated and had no sleep, but once I realized no one was giving me shit for using the mens room, I coped my shit together and headed to opening ritual. The person supposed to run the ritual was stuck on the east coast, so the event organizer stepped in to do one, and asked who the farthest away folks were. East was a kick ass guy from Hamburg who was with Ecclesia Antinoi who I got to know, along with the other Antinoi, pretty well via the LGBT suite and many drinks. When they asked who had come from furthest south and someone said LA, I asked if they wanted Home, or where you flew from today. They Said Home. I said Sydney. I took South. West was 10 miles away- ha!. North was a great guy from Central Canada. The Antinoi had no familiarity with genericc pagan ritual, so his was a follow along calling of East. I saw the energy in the room drop, so when South came I buckled on my performance voice and folks started screaming and hollering and it was great. I also in doing so got a chance to say "Hi, I'm a guy" sorta, which helped, and it came up in a few other panels, so by the time the weekend was over most folks got it, and hell, a great gaggle of fag boys were flirting with me.

A mother has sued the Madison County School District for $1.75 million over allegations that teachers at Luther Branson Elementary in Canton dressed as witches to scare her child.

In the suit, which tells one side of a legal argument, Walker alleges teachers at the elementary school dressed in witch costumes "in an effort to punish the children."

Whether you use raw incense, blocks or incense papers, you'll need an incense burner. The censer can be anything from a gilt, chain equipped, church-type affair to a bowl of sand or salt. It truly doesn't matter. I know occultists who've used the bowl-and-salt method for years, long after they could have afforded to purchase other censers. Although I have several, perhaps my favorite censer is actually a mortar from Mexico. It is carved from lava, stands on three legs and is perfect for use as a censer.